This lesson encourages students' natural curiosity about spiders and builds on their prior knowledge. After a shared reading of Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin, students work cooperatively using a strategy called Fact–"Faction"–Fiction to identify what they know, gather information, and create their own multimedia diaries using PowerPoint. Although the topic example used here is spiders, this lesson is easily adaptable to any content area topic.

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 3rd Grade ELA.

This resource accompanies our Rethink 3rd Grade ELA course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning.  

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 3rd Grade English Language Arts. 

In this lesson, students will get beyond the myths of Rosa Parks’ arrest on a Montgomery bus in December of 1955 in order to understand that she was a person of strong convictions about civil rights and fair treatment. After watching a short biographical video, they will examine a photograph of Parks and others at the Highlander School, a training ground for activists, and they will read the parts of the Montgomery City Code that led to her arrest. The lesson culminates with students developing a creative piece based on their new understanding of Rosa Parks.

In this lesson, students will learn about Sitting Bull’s determination to protect Native American land and culture in the face of Westward Expansion and the overwhelming power of the US military. After viewing a video about his life, students will examine an 1885 photograph of Sitting Bull and read excerpts of his description of the Battle of Little Bighorn. The lesson concludes with students imagining a dialogue between Sitting Bull and a more cautious counterpart.

In this lesson, students will learn about Sojourner Truth’s egalitarian spirit in the face of institutional discrimination. After viewing a video about her life, students will examine an 1864 photograph of Truth and read excerpts of her most famous speech. The lesson concludes with students choosing a new name for a current-day exemplar of perseverance.

This teacher's curriculum guide presents strategies for engaging readers before, during, and after reading the book. It also provides extension strategies to further students’ understanding through response to writing prompts.

Students will learn about the inventions and path to success of Thomas Edison by watching a short biographical video, analyzing a photograph of Edison and one of his most famous inventions, and reading a letter written by Edison to a Minnesota high school student. The lesson concludes with students assessing and updating one of Edison’s many inventions.

Students will learn about the powerful writing and strong convictions of Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, one of the most influential books in American history. After watching a short video about Paine, students will examine both the cover and some of the contents of his most famous work. To conclude the lesson, students will write eulogies for Paine that summarize his greatest accomplishments as a writer and advocate for American independence.

In this lesson, children's literature is used to provide students with an opportunity to explore the concept that all individuals have strengths, abilities, and talents. Through whole-class and small-group dialogue, students determine what each story means in the context of their classroom and themselves as individuals. Students also develop the necessary skills for cooperative learning.

In this lesson, the first session involves teacher modeling of the prediction strategy. The second is based on guided practice that allows the teacher and students to work together. The third session requires students to use prediction and document the results in response journals. Suggestions for transferring the strategy into later reading activities are included.

In this lesson, students will learn about Walt Whitman’s brave actions and highly regarded writings. After viewing a video about his life, students will examine the frontispiece and title page of an early edition of Leaves and Grass and will analyze one of its most famous poems. The lesson concludes with students writing an updated version of “I Hear America Singing” reflecting what they have learned about Whitman’s beliefs about our country.

Students read various poems and explore why lines are broken where they are and how they affect rhythm, sound, meaning, and appearance in poetry.

Our ‘Local Read Aloud’ is a spin-off of The Global Read Aloud, created by Pernille Ripp.  The idea is that we select one book to read aloud to our students over a span of six weeks.  During our six weeks of reading we connect with other classrooms across the district and discuss, create, and connect with the book and our peers.  We can use a variety of tools to connect, and take as much, or as little time as we’d like. The project is intended to be enjoyable and not stressful, and in my experience the students enjoy the read aloud component as much as the connections.

Our ‘Local Read Aloud’ is a spin-off of The Global Read Aloud, created by Pernille Ripp.  The idea is that we select one book to read aloud to our students over a span of six weeks.  During our six weeks of reading we connect with other classrooms across the district and discuss, create, and connect with the book and our peers.  We can use a variety of tools to connect, and take as much, or as little time as we’d like. The project is intended to be enjoyable and not stressful, and in my experience the students enjoy the read aloud component as much as the connections.